Many active-duty service members can’t get SNAP benefits because the government counts a soldier’s housing allowance as income, pushing them above the federal eligibility line.

Immigration advocates say these families have grown increasingly fearful of sharing their information with a government agency and would rather face food insecurity than risk enrolling in SNAP.  

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the biggest federal program aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty that millions of Americans find themselves in — sometimes for a few months, sometimes for several years.